First off to understand how to get the best deal on airfare, you need to understand how airlines structure their fares. Airlines are so savvy when it comes to structuring their ticket prices, it’s almost mind-boggling. It is all based off of supply and demand and the metrics they use are complex. Airlines set aside a certain number of discount seats on each plane. Once they are gone, they are gone. Usually once a plane’s seat for a certain flight is set up they start with a basic fare somewhere in a middle rate. Most people think it’s based off of a first come first serve basis, but it’s usually not the case (it is for some airlines though). If people don’t start buying seats right away then the price starts to lower, but as more and more seats fill up the price goes up. So you really don’t know when those discount seats are going to be available. Sometimes they will be saved for the last minute for an airlines last-ditch effort to fill up seats (this is rarely the case now, since there have been so many cuts recently in loads).

Have I frustrated you yet? I know you were coming to read this post to get a clear-cut way on how to get those feel-good-fares. But here are some tips that may help you be able to shave hundreds of dollars off of your travel expenses:

Choose the middle. Look for tickets in the middle of the day, the middle of the month, and the middle of the weekend. These are most likely going to be your cheaper ticket because demand is low.

If you are willing to take on multiple legs, you are more likely going to get a cheaper ticket.

Book early, but not too early. Airlines set aside a number of discount seats many months ahead. If someone buys it, not only is it gone but also the fares increase.

Use different IP addresses if you intend on watching the fares over several days. This is an example of how sneaky the airlines are. If they see that you are interested, and keep coming back ,they may raise the fare. Again, based off of supply and demand.

Use tools such at AirFareWatchdog or sign up for email alerts from the airlines websites themselves letting you know about cheap tickets from your origin city.

And lastly, if you find a good deal SNAG IT! Once it’s gone it’s gone.

It’s all in the game the airlines play, looking to make the most profit out of their flights. If you know how to play the game, you are most likely to end up the winner. The only way to learn how to play the game is to practice. So the good news is you get to travel a lot while you learn! What are your tips for snatching up those dream flight prices?

It’s important to look for some bargains when your pockets aren’t as deep as they used to be. Here are some tips for traveling cheap and in style.

Sign up for e-newsletters: As annoying as they can be- signing up for discount traveling sites newsletters can help you save money when you are very flexible on your plans. Updates will come to your inbox informing you of awesome Las Vegas hotel deals, and cheap airplane tickets to Orlando (and more- those were obviously examples).

Sign up for Airline’s e-newsletters and download widgets: Along the same lines as the above tip, many airlines also have a newsletter that will ping you when they have can’t miss deals. Delta and Southwest are both known for last minute deals that can be found by their newletters or widgets. However with those deals you must act fast- they disappear as quickly as they come.

Be flexible: While many places are slashing prices to be competitive others are raising prices to keep afloat. If you are dead set on a location then try to be flexible on timing. For example many hotels are cheaper during the week then the weekend (depending if they are a tourist location- you will find the opposite if they rely on business travelers). If you are set on your timing then try to be flexible on location.

Do your research: Nobody has a ton of time to sit around and look at every discount traveler’s site, but you can find some great deals. Choose a few- because most are pretty similar and go to town comparing rates. Some good ones are priceline.com, travelocity, orbitz, kayak.com, and many others.

Don’t forget to haggle: I feel like with the internet and all other tools that we have at our disposal that haggling has become a lost art. Many have let the internet take on that role for them. While it may take guts- the payoff can be big! Having worked at a hotel before- I know that haggling can be an acceptable part of the booking process (usually done in person at the hotel). It only works if there are a lot of hotels in the area and the vacancy rate is typically below 70%- but it varies from hotel to hotel. At the hotel I worked for we would have the set rate for the day and then a separate rack that we could not go below. Obviously our goal was to upsell but it was better to go lower than to leave a vacant room.

There are many other things you can do as well to get good deals (please share your tips) but these are some of the very basic tips that have helped me in my travels. Traveling is a luxury that is most likely the first to go when making cutbacks in your budgets. But if done right it may actually help cutback other areas in your budget including therapy bills!